CURIOSITY rather than apprehension filled me as the rotor blade powered up on the Fairoaks based Surrey Police helicopter.

Most of us have watched high speed chases on Police! Camera! Action! but that is just the tip of the iceberg for the ‘chopper coppers’ who spend their days up in ‘the best office in the world’. Navigator PC Chas ‘Eagle Eyes’ Cooke said: “All that glamorous stuff looks great on television but at the end of the day we are here to provide a service.” As we soared above the swimming pools scattered on the St George’s Hill Estate in Weybridge some 800 feet below, Chas, 45, from Wisley explained: “We are here to save peoples lives. It’s a rewarding job.”

Pilot Paul Darnley, camera operator PC Geoff Craggs and navigator PC Cooke suddenly switched from good humoured banter to professional mode as we headed towards a category bravo job (category A means Heathrow Airport is forced to close so the helicopter has free airspace) in Bromley at 133mph. Earlier on the whirlwind eight-minute trip to central London, Geoff, 44, joked as he noted some co-ordinates down with a wink: “Chas reads the maps but can’t write. That’s why policeman always work in pairs.” The £300 per hour “sophisticated police car” is often used to escort the Queen from above as she journeys to duties by chauffeur driven car and earlier that morning the crew had shadowed armed officers transferring a high security prisoner to Winchester prison. Rescues have included pinpointing two lost scouts late at night in the Devil’s Punchbowl at Hindhead and the crew was also an integral part of searches for missing Weybridge schoolgirl Milly Dowler. On this occasion the 1970s Eurocopter Twin Squirrel A5355N loomed over Sunbridge Golf course looking for a hiding burglar. Unfortunately the male suspect in a pink fleece had vanished without trace. “The only thing they don’t change is their shoes. Many criminals wear another set of clothes underneath because they know we will be coming,” explained Chas. Seconds later we were heading for Fairfield Hospital in Uxbridge where a man had assaulted a nurse. Looking over Chas’ shoulder at his monitor I could see the hive of activity underneath us at C ward as the 360-degree camera spun on its axis capturing the ground units moving frantically around the hospital campus.

The chase seemed like a game of chess played out in the sky as the crew attempted to second-guess the criminal’s next move. With four different radio frequencies blaring into the in-built earphones of my £1,400 flying helmet it was difficult to stay focused. Over the enormous roar of the rotor blade I heard: “Light skinned EC3 suspect has been known to be violent in the past. “He has just come out of prison and is wearing dark jacket and jeans.” The offender was trapped in the building as we circled and with every exit covered the crew of India 98 left the scene in the hands of grateful colleagues below to attend another call at Croydon Cemetery. This time the perpetrator of a handbag snatch had already been apprehended by a beat bobby. “We need to make sure he is safe and direct back up units to his whereabouts,” said Geoff before acting as omniscient guide for an unmarked car speeding to the scene. After a quick refuel at Lippits Hill in Essex, the other South East helibase, we were circling the high profile buildings of central London — in some cases too close for (my) comfort. Former RAF pilot Paul, 32, told me: “The Real IRA are the biggest threat now and by doing daily surveillance we can capture images that may be needed for future investigations. “Our daily patrols also act as a deterrent to these people.” Detailing his career move after 13 years in the armed forces, Paul said as we hovered above garden topped offices at Canary Wharf: “I have a young family and now I actually get to see them. “It is a lot less dangerous working for Surrey Police than it is conducting operations in places like Bosnia and Northern Ireland.” Defending the £500 million, which is spent annually by the police on air support across the country Chas gave a breakdown of the figures. “To search a square mile it takes a fixed wing aircraft 20 minutes, we can do it in 12 minutes while a search on foot would take up 450 man hours.” Chobham residents have complained about noise from the aircraft but having witnessed first hand the stomach churning descent into Fairoaks at the end of our flight I can safely say the neighbouring community is considered. Inspector Phil Smith who welcomed us back at base, said: “We don’t go out unless we have to and we always try to take routes back to the airport away from houses at a high altitude. “Just a handful of people have complained and once we explain the job we are doing most people are satisfied.”